Non-linear dynamical approaches for characterizing multi-sector climate impacts under irreducible uncertainty.

Abstract

Internal climate variability (ICV) remains a major source of uncertainty in climate projections, complicating impact assessments across critical sectors, especially at stakeholder-relevant scales. Given that ICV emerges from the nonlinear interactions of the climate system, we argue that nonlinear dynamical (NLD) approaches can improve its characterization, providing physically interpretable insights that strengthen adaptation strategies and support multisector decision-making. However, despite their suitability for such problems, NLD approaches remain largely underutilized in the analysis of initial condition large ensembles (LEs). We argue that a diverse suite of NLD approaches offers a promising pathway for systematically extracting robust insights from LEs. If effectively applied and systematically integrated, these methods could fully harness the potential of LEs, uncovering underlying patterns and variability across ensemble members to refine fundamental insights from climate projections. This will help bridge the gap between complex climate dynamics and practical resilience strategies, ensuring that decision-makers, resource managers, and infrastructure planners have a more reliable foundation for navigating irreducible uncertainty.